


Shifting Cycles

by The_Sickfic_Sideblog



Series: Halloween Week 2017 [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Keith gets Love and Support, Mentions of Kolivan - Freeform, Werewolf AU, Werewolf!Keith, transformations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-21 19:43:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12464550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Sickfic_Sideblog/pseuds/The_Sickfic_Sideblog
Summary: Keith is a bit ahead of schedule, but his friends pull through for him.





	Shifting Cycles

Keith was getting twitchy. Maybe his little moon tracker app on his phone was wrong. Maybe the full moon was actually tonight. That would explain the muscle spasms running up and down his back and the coarse hair that was starting to peek out of his arms and chin. Maybe he should call Kolivan.

Kolivan had become Keith’s impromptu mentor, ever since they both discovered their lycanthropic qualities. He easily adopted Keith into his pack, taking him under his wing (or paw), and teaching him the ways of being a werewolf.

But Kolivan was gone this month. This was evident by a number of times Keith got to voicemail. He often went on recruiting missions and territory markings to solidify his pack, and just before a full moon was the perfect time to renew their scents in the area.  _ He can’t be bothered with just a pup _ , Keith thought to himself, scratching idly at the side of his cheeks. So he scrolled through the rest of his contacts, wondering who else he could call for advice.

Hunk was a no-go. Ever since Keith had accidentally given him that scare about a year ago, the big guy was a bit unsure about the whole werewolf situation. Lance was in the middle of a family reunion, he shouldn’t be bothered. Allura and Shiro actually had adult jobs and lives they had to tend to, and Pidge was away at a hacking convention, and that left her brother, Matt. Not Keith’s first choice, but no doubt he’d be knowledgeable. He dialed and watched his yellowing nails as the phone rang.

Matthew Holt wasn’t used to getting calls from Keith. When he looked at the caller ID, his eyebrows furrowed. “Um...hello?”

“Hey Matt, it’s Kei-”

“You sound like you swallowed a blender! What happened?!”

Keith huffed a bit. His voice always got rough and gravelly around this time. “It’s just...part of the whole wolf thing. Which is what I called you about.”

Matt twirled in his office chair and looked at his calendar. “Isn’t the full moon tomorrow?”

“That’s the problem.”

“Why on earth did you call me, then?”

Keith explained the whole reasoning he’d gone through a minute earlier and got Matt’s sympathies. After a decent amount of back and forth and some quick texts and replies from Pidge and Allura, they got the scraps of an answer.

“We can probably assume that since you’re still a pup, you’ve got some variation in your cycles,” Matt explained, “And if they’re anything like more womanly cycles, they should straighten out as you get older.”

“So...what does that mean for me now?”

“Means you’re probably changing a day early, Keith.”

The werewolf clenched his teeth and tried not to sound distressed. He had always had someone beside him during these changes before, but this would theoretically be his first change alone, and that scared him more than the change itself.

“Alright....” His claws tapped on the table nervously, “Do you, uh...shit....I dunno how to ask, but-”

“You want me to come over.”

Keith could hear the small smirk on Matt’s face when he said it. But he nodded. “I’d owe you one.”

“No, you wouldn’t. You’ve saved my ass a few times, it’s about time I saved yours. Will you be okay for about an hour while I finish this project up?”

“Yeah, I think I’ll be alright. Just don’t take your sweet time getting here.”

“I won’t. Just gotta grab some stuff that might help,” Matt’s voice softened into a more comforting tone, “You’ll be okay, alright Keith? Just a little ahead of schedule. Do what you would normally do, I’ll be there soon.”

Keith’s shoulders relaxed a bit at the softer words, “Okay. Thank you.”

The boys hung up, and Keith’s long wait began. An hour truly wasn’t that long, but this time it felt  _ agonizing _ . Every little action he took to occupy himself only seemed to last seconds. He even managed to do the dishes, clean up his laundry, and tidy his small living room, and he still had forty minutes left.

At the half-hour mark, Keith started pacing around. Forty minutes in, his clothes started to feel too tight, and he changed into his large shifting pajamas. Forty-five minutes in, he began to panic at the itching that was covering his body. At fifty minutes, when Matt still wasn’t there, Keith was convinced that he’d abandoned him, and he’d have to shift alone. And at fifty-five minutes, he was in the darkest corner of his home, watching his hands crackle and break as tears streamed down his cheeks.

But at just a minute left, there was a frantic knock at the door. Keith didn’t even have to get up, Matt let himself in and had their entire friend group in tow.

“Keith!” Lance was the first one to run up and tumble to his side, taking one of his trembling hands in his own. Shiro did the same, although he was much more graceful about sitting down and pulling Keith into his lap. Soon after, Keith was surrounded by his friends, and looking at Matt with confusion.

“H...how di-”

“Shh, hush, you’re busy.” Matt grinned, pulling out his water bottle for whenever Keith was ready, “I told you, I was picking up some things that might help. And friends are things.”

“We’re  _ people _ , not things.” Pidge stuck her tongue out at her older brother, then turned to Keith with a soft smile, “He piled us all in that dumb Subaru Outback, and nearly got pulled over trying to get us here on time.”

Keith looked from face to face, all of them with friendly and comforting gazes. Except for Allura. Allura was storming around the house on the phone, yelling at someone with all the energy she could muster.

“I don’t  _ care _ if you’re on an important trip, you do  _ not _ leave a new member of your pack  _ alone _ near the full moon!...Yes, he can handle himself, but look where we are now - you  _ know _ pups have unreliable cycles!... I know  _ plenty _ about werewolves, obviously more than you,  _ Kolivan _ !”

Keith managed a smile before more pain shot through his middle, and he clenched his eyes shut. The pain was met with hand squeezes and reassuring words from everyone around him, even Hunk, who was close enough to pat his foot for comfort.

It would be a long, painful night, that was the truth. But it was also true that Keith had all of his friends close by, and he would be just fine with them around.


End file.
